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Extreme Drop Test - iPhone 5 Vs. Samsung Galaxy S4

20/06/2013

See how the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S4 stack up against each other in the extreme drop test challenge.

Start dropping!

If you have been a supporter of the glass-front smart phones since they started appearing on the phone market you will have inevitably experienced the effects of clumsy mishandling. The technology despite its gutsy brains has a less than advanced exterior. A smart phone is highly powerful, but its early glass-front and plastic body design meant that it needed some heavy-duty protection. Skip forward a good five years later and you can see the difference in certainly the guts, but the exterior glory too.

It isn’t every day that you have the opportunity to do an extreme drop test on several hundred dollar smart phones. Some people have all the luck and an employee from TechSmartt got to live out the dream by comparing the smash results of an iPhone 5 versus a Samsung Galaxy S4. He captured the results by the smart phone’s cameras, a personal camera and a GoPro cam positioned on the ground to capture the moment of impact.

The initial drops were from chest and pocket height. Their increased strength thanks to consumer feedback and improvements in suitable materials meant that both the Samsung and the iPhone withstood these drops quite successfully. Increased heights; however, resulted in much more carnage.

A two metre drop for the Samsung Galaxy S4 saw the unravelling of its ‘secure’ metal frame by enduring a spider-web crack that caused noticeable damage and visibility issues to the screen. The phone itself powered on to keep working. The same drop for the iPhone 5 proved a lot less fruitful with only a few corner scuffs which did not sprawl wide enough to affect the screen.

The final drop

The final drop was from three metres – think first floor balcony. Impressively the iPhone 5 came out with a widening of the scuff marks from the previous drop and a depressed small circle of glass in the top corner that still did not impede vision of function. The Samsung Galaxy S4’s results were far less rosy. Its screen was completely shattered on impact making use of the phone extremely difficult and shortly after the drop the phone stopped working all together.

The final testing stages were completely outrageous considering the iPhone 5 had done a good job to prove it was King of the Castle. Firstly, he redid the three metre drop, this time with the face down, with not so much as another split. Finally he decided the ultimate test was a ‘drive-by’. After placing the iPhone 5 face down on concrete and drove slowly over the phone with the phone being uncompromised both visually and functionality. It was a true feat of strength.

In all seriousness it is doubtful that people need a phone that will withstand being driven over – but on the other hand accidents do happen. It is important to note that both smart phones were in their naked form relying on their safety design features to protect them through the testing.

Keep your phone safe

There are a range of especially durable and quality phone cases from Sprout that can improve the safety and resilience of your phone. Sprout’s Vault Case has been designed for super-human strength and is available for the iPhone 5. It is ideal for extreme sport enthusiasts, tradies or even plain clumsy people who want the added security for their phone. Sprout has the Tuff Case for the Samsung Galaxy S4 offering dual interior and exterior protection measures to guard against scratches and drops.